i think the amazing thing about birth is how humbling it is. the force of nature is so huge and so much out of our control, and we cant plan for or anticipate its course.

in many ways, my last birth was similar to yours although it was a homebirth.

my labor was loooong, i was exhausted, i had the feeling something was wrong, and i wasnt dilating uniformly. when my son's squishy head finally appeared, i thought we were done but it actually took 4 more hours to get him out, and lots of talk of transfer, c-sections, etc. my contractions completely left around the 3 hr mark of his squishy head being RIGHT RIGHT there, and his heart began to decel. i almost passed out twice. the midwives put castor oil packs on my belly and fed me cashews for energy, gave me a homeopathic remedy for contractions. when contractions returned, getting him out was urgent and unreal. when he finally came, we saw that he had been right ear presenting with his head cocked to the side, thus the reason he was stuck for so long. it was not fun.

many ppl told me i was a rockstar and said that i should be happy, i did it! but i felt raw and just relieved that we were safe. i didnt feel powerful or victorious, i just felt humbled.

my first birth had been in the hospital and was natural drug/free but very standard text book- 5 hrs from start to finish- powerful and overwhelming (i had the popping noises/shifting sensations you described) but super fast! 30 min pushing time. i was also pretty young and felt so empowered by bucking the system and emerging healthy, victorious, and strong. having this experience, it became easy for me to think everyone/anyone should be able to handle labor. sure, it was hard hard hard but doable. i thought my second birth would be the same and when it ended up being an 18 plus hour ordeal that scared the **** out of me and made me fear for my childs life, im now a lot more conscious of the fact that for everything there is a time and a place. we have interventions and hospitals to help us when we need them- getting help isnt a weakness, its a blessing!!